On the table

About This Report

This report was written by CPJ Iran Consultant Hanif Zarrabi-Kashani, based in Seattle, Washington. CPJ Middle East and North Africa Program Coordinator Sherif Mansour contributed reporting and research.

Zarrabi-Kashani has covered Iranian affairs for outlets including Al Monitor, Vox, the Guardian, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, and the Brookings Institution.

Mansour is an Egyptian-American democracy and human rights activist who has authored several articles and conducted studies on civil society and the role of the new media and civil society in achieving democracy. He was named one of the top 99 young foreign policy professionals in 2013 by the Diplomatic Courier.

On the table

May 24, 2018 12:00 AM ET

Why now is the time to sway Rouhani to meet his promises for press freedom in Iran President Hassan Rouhani came to power in 2013 on a platform of pledges to roll back the repressive policies of his predecessor, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who decimated Iran’s once vibrant media. Rouhani, seeking...

On the table: Why now is the time to sway Rouhani to meet his promises for press freedom in Iran

May 24, 2018 12:00 AM ET

President Hassan Rouhani sought re-election on the promise of a more open Iran. But little has changed for the press, as hardliners in the judiciary and other powerful institutions jail journalists, block websites, and maintain a climate of fear with harassment and surveillance. The current international focus on Iran...

Record number of journalists jailed as Turkey, China, Egypt pay scant price for repression

December 13, 2017 12:00 AM ET

For the second year in a row, the number of journalists imprisoned for their work hit a historical high, as the U.S. and other Western powers failed to pressure the world’s worst jailers--Turkey, China, and Egypt--into improving the bleak climate for press freedom. A CPJ special report by Elana...

Turkey's crackdown propels number of journalists in jail worldwide to record high

December 13, 2016 12:00 AM ET

At least 81 journalists are imprisoned in Turkey, all of them facing anti-state charges, in the wake of an unprecedented crackdown that has included the shuttering of more than 100 news outlets. The 259 journalists in jail worldwide is the highest number recorded since 1990. A CPJ special report by...